Some of my fondest childhood memories center around BBQs with our extended family, the Duartes. The feast began usually after Sunday church. On occasion, the moms would actually skip mass just to ensure there was enough time to cook everything to perfection. Friends would lick their chops, hoping to be invited. See where the food fetish comes from?
The highlight of these meals was the spicy chicken. OOOOoooo weee that chicken! We had a serious obsession with heat. Olga would take fresh peppers from her garden and dry them out, then blend them in the food processor to create fresh red pepper flakes. I remember looking up at her in the kitchen as she waved for me to stay away from the red cloud with one hand while rubbing tears from her eyes with the other. Another time, mom and Olga got in cahoots to try and take me down. They made the chicken super spicy, sat back quietly at the table, and slyly watched for my reaction on the first bite. Yah, that was some hot bird.
Needless to say, I saw this recipe for Dragon Drumsticks and got fired up (boo). Green chiles and garlic? Oh yes, this is happening.
The only issue is there was a slight discrepancy in the directions about the use of vinegar. I did some research to find the original version by Nigella; it does, indeed, use rice vinegar. This copy past error made me crazy for about 5 minutes trying to figure out where I missed the vinegar! There is also garlic oil in Nigella's version which makes my brain salivate at the thought.
Don't be scared about the green peppers... it smelled super spicy and I was very nervous but we were not at all impressed with the heat of the final product. Mike and I like it hot. I also thought that the amount of oil was a bit excessive for about a pound of chicken.
Next time, I'm going to try the original version as a taste comparison. This one was okay, it marinated over night, but was missing that oumph I was so looking forward to. If you're a mild flavor kinda person, check these out.
For this recipe on Dragon Drumsticks, check out 1big bite who modified it from Nigella Lawson.
